Cynthia Villar rebuts SEC claims

Former Senator Cynthia Villar on Tuesday dismissed as “baseless” the Securities and Exchange Commission’s allegations of violations of the Securities Regulation Code by Villar Land, formerly Golden MV Holdings Inc.

Villar insisted that the questioned asset revaluations were standard industry practice and not criminal in nature.

She said the issue stemmed from what she described as standard practice in the real estate industry, where property assets are revalued to reflect current market value.

“The lands owned by Manny were bought a long time ago. They were revalued to improve financial stability, and they did not pay for that,” she told DAILY TRIBUNE.

She maintained that the matter was not criminal in nature and dismissed allegations of manipulation, insider trading, and misleading disclosures as “bad publicity.”

She said the properties in question were acquired around 30 years ago.

On 2 March, subpoenas were issued inviting her and her husband, former senate president Manny Villar, and their children Senators Mark Villar and Camille Villar and Golden MV director Paolo Villar to shed light on the matter.

The subpoenas also sought the participation of other signatory officials in connection with the reported P1.33-trillion in total assets declared in the company’s 2024 report. Authorities noted that only P35.7 billion was reflected as the audited figure.

The family faces alleged violations of Sections 24.1(d) and 26.3 of Republic Act 8799, or the Securities Regulation Code, which prohibit fraudulent, manipulative, or deceptive acts in securities transactions, including false or misleading statements.

The SEC is mandated to protect investors and ensure transparency in the securities market.

Department of Justice spokesperson Polo Martinez clarified that the subpoenas were intended to determine whether there was merit in the SEC’s allegations.

He stressed that charges had yet to be filed against the family and the company’s executives as due process requires they be given the opportunity to explain their side.

On the day the subpoenas were issued, the Villar family said in a statement that they were “fully prepared to cooperate” with authorities.

“As a family that has served the real estate industry for decades, we are confident that the impartial panel will find that no violation of law was committed,” the statement said.

The former senator added that the move could be politically motivated.

“What is this really about? They just want to tarnish our name. There’s no basis for it. This is clearly just bad publicity against us. I don’t know if they want to dishonor Manny or if they’re trying to weaken Mark,” she said.